Homeowner Harry Fischer says it went “through two bedrooms, through a door and then hit the opposite end of the house.”

Stephen Witte was driving by when the bullets started flying.

“Came back a little bit later and saw a body covered up and it was ridiculous,” he said.

Witnesses say they don’t know why Bircher pulled out a gun.

“There was no kind of scuffles here. There was no kind of confrontation between him and the person that was shot,” said Trombetta.

Even more worrisome is this is the second murder in Eldersburg in just the past four weeks.

On June 20, a man was stabbed to death by a co-worker behind Martin’s Grocery. An arrest was also made in that case.

“This very unusual for the Eldersburg area, for Carroll County, in fact. Carroll County has one of the lowest crime rates of any county in the state,” Greg Shipley, spokesman for the Maryland State Police, said.

“After something like this, it’s kind of nerve-wrecking,” Witte said.

Nerves are frayed in this town where violence is seldom seen.

After the shooting, Bircher fled the scene. Police were able to track him down and convince him to turn himself in.

Bircher has been charged with first- and second-degree murder and attempted murder.